


"I Could Have Sworn You Had Teeth"

by high_functioning_sociopath



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Broken Bones, Bullying, Drama, Falling In Love, Hospitalization, Human Toothless (How to Train Your Dragon), M/M, Rape/Non-con Elements, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-01-07 10:23:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18408716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/high_functioning_sociopath/pseuds/high_functioning_sociopath
Summary: In a town that's way too obsessed with high school basketball, the mascot of the Vikings finds the MVP of the Dragons stumbling into an alleyway with a broken leg. The boy is unwilling to go to the hospital, so Hiccup hides him in his room.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Except for the last part, this chapter was actually written by my friend! So if you suddenly notice a change in writing style, that's why :) Oh, and she's tarkiwifruit on FFNet, check her out!

Things were not looking up for the Vikings. Hiccup could feel the rage in the air from his father’s side of the court, even through his stifling mascot head. Despite the heat in the costume, it made his mouth dry.

“What is going on with you tonight?” Coach Stoick the Vast, so nicknamed for his bellowing voice as well as his girth, shouted at his team. “Have all of you decided to choke tonight, or did you just decide not to play? They’re destroying us out there!”

His five players stared back at him. Berk High School’s basketball team didn’t look like a typical gang of jocks. It was co-ed, for one. Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Astrid all looked like string beans to the untrained eye, and a big guy like Fishlegs didn’t look like he’d be quick enough to keep up. Only Snotlout had the physique of a stereotypical athlete. But their appearances were misleading: the Berk Vikings were the best high school basketball team in the county.

Or at least, they had been last year.

The team stood, panting, as they waited for Stoick to stop for air. “It’s not our fault coach!” Snotlout whined. “We’re doing our best, but these guys--”

“They’re different from last year,” Astrid interrupted. “They’re playing smarter, and their teamwork is better too.”

“And they’re using that teamwork for some  _ awesome  _ strategy,” Fishlegs cut in. “Even on the court I could see it, the way number 33, 55, and 86 pulled off a three-part pincer-pass and got through our defense--”

Tuffnut whacked his teammate on the back of the head. “Don’t  _ praise  _ them!”

Hiccup had to turn his entire body to look out at their opponents. Reddeth High School’s Dragons stood around their coach, probably hearing from her the opposite of what Stoick was giving his team. The Dragons and the Vikings had been rivals for as long as Hiccup could remember. His parents had both been on the team when they were in High School, and even his grandfather had made some vicious remarks about ‘ _ those Reddeth bastards.’ _ But they’d never been this  _ good. _

The Dragon mascot, noticing that the giant fabric Viking head was looking their way, turned around and mooned Hiccup. Hiccup made a rude gesture at it. Some of Dragons saw and laughed-- one of the laughers was Gronkle. The Dragons had a much larger team than Berk’s threadbare five-man-band, but Hiccup knew about their five star players. He didn’t even know their names, just their nicknames: Gronkle (86), Nadder (47), Barf (55), Belch (33) (Hiccup knew he wasn’t one to talk, but how did they let nicknames like those stick?) and the creme de la creme, Nightmare (01).

And boy was number 01 mopping up some Vikings tonight.

“...all summer. Those dragons may think they’re on our level, but they’re in for a nasty surprise!” Hiccup tuned back in to his father’s pep talk as Stoick’s voice rose. “We’re better than them. We’ve always been better than them. Now you’re going to go out there and show them where they can stick their fancy new plays, and show them what it means to be a Viking.” He put his hand out and the rest of the team put their hands on top. Hiccup moved to put his enormous felt-covered hand out with the rest, but they were already shouting “Vikings!” and pulling out, running back onto the court.

“Hey Dad,” Hiccup said. And then, louder, to be heard through the suit. “Dad!”

“Hmm?” Stoick asked, dragging his eyes away from the court for just a second to drop a glance on his team mascot.

“Tuffnut isn’t looking so good. He’s still limping from his wipeout last week,” Hiccup shouted. “Maybe I could go--”

“I’m sorry son,” Stoick sighed. “But now’s really not the time to sabotage ourselves by putting you out there. Maybe next game.”

Hiccup didn’t even bother to sigh. He said that every game. But it was hardly like Hiccup could make their situation any worse. Hiccup looked up at the scoreboard:  the Vikings were losing 47 to 18, with three minutes left on the clock. If they managed to pull a win out of this one, he’d take even Snotlout’s painful noogies with joy.

***

Spoiler: they didn’t win.

***

“I want to bash those motherfuckers’ heads in!” Snotlout roared, kicking instead at an innocent garbage can. He hopped back, holding his foot, cursing. 

Hiccup looked up from his phone as the team entered. The gym was empty now, the crowds dispersed. Vikings fans had left in dispirited twos and threes as Dragon fans had lifted Nightmare on their shoulders, singing their school’s anthem.

“Hey guys,” Nightmare had called out over the roar of cheering voices. “I may be the bomb-ass hero who won this game, but let’s give it up for the best strategist in the world,  _ Lightniiing!” _

And he’d pointed at a player on the bench, who gave a bashful sort of wave. Then the fans had lifted him up on their shoulders too, singing and cheering as they funneled out the door.

Hiccup and the Vikings had gone to shower. Hiccup preferred to shower quickly and get dressed, ever since the one time he’d tried to shower with the guys and Snotlout had tripped him up in the shower and sent snapchats of it to Astrid and Ruffnut. (Hiccup had texted them both and begged them not to open the snaps. Astrid said she’d deleted it without looking. He hadn’t gotten a response from Ruff.)

He still waited for them in the gym, hoping maybe they’d invite him with them to their usual post-game celebratory ice cream. Tonight’s mood was not an ice cream mood.

“Shut up Snotty, we’re all pissed,” Ruffnut snapped. “You’re not the only one who wants to bash some faces, but you don’t see me destroying school property over it.”

“Yeah, cuz Snotlout already took the garbage can you were aiming for,” Tuffnut muttered. Ruffnut elbowed him in the ribs.

The three of them started arguing, and Fishlegs joined in for the camaraderie of it, until Astrid said, “Why don’t we?”

She spoke at a normal volume, but her four teammates quieted and looked back at her. With one hand on her hip, the other holding her duffel bag slung over her shoulder, Astrid looked like nothing less than a general leading her army into glory. “Why don’t we go bash some faces?”

“Uuh,” said Snotlout.

“We just lost the qualifying match for State,” Astrid said. “So it’s not like the league can punish us for it. And you know no one in the Berk administration’s gonna care if we knock some Dragon heads.” Her expression turned venomous. “They embarrassed us today. We know where their school is. Let’s go drive around, see if we find some Dragons. Especially that bitch Gronkle. I want payback.”

Slowly, hopeful malice bloomed on the faces of her teammates. (Well, Fishlegs looked more nervous than malicious.)

“What are we waiting for then?” Snotlout whooped, and jogged to the exit of the gym. 

“Uh, I don’t think this is a good idea,” Hiccup called to them. “It’s just basketball, guys. It’s not like these people are killing our families.”

Astrid turned to look at him with raised eyebrows. The rest of the team ignored him entirely. “Does this mean you’re not coming?” She asked.

Hiccup inhaled some spit and started coughing. Astrid waited for him to finish. She gave him one last, intent stare before turning and walking to the door.

Hiccup gaped for a few seconds before jogging forward. It was no ice cream, but an invitation was an invitation. And he wasn’t going to throw away the only one he’d ever gotten.

***

It didn’t take long to get to the other school, about a 10-minute drive. Hiccup was reveling in finally being invited, but he wasn’t sure how  _ he _ was going to bash any skulls. Not that he wanted to, but he also didn’t want to seem like more of a wuss than they already thought.

The car stopped in Reddeth’s parking lot, behind the football field. Everyone got out, Hiccup trailing not far behind. “So how we doing this?” Snotlout asked, cracking his knuckles. “Sneak in, element of surprise kind of game? Charge in roaring, show them who’s boss?”

Astrid didn’t answer and walked toward the school in silence. She could figure it out once she knew where they were.

“There!” Ruffnut cried. Everyone turned to where she was pointing and saw five members of the Dragon team sitting on a wooden ledge on a hill in front of them, a few cans of beer scattered around, and laughing their asses off. The ledge was built onto a steep hill behind the bleachers, extra seating for the football field it overlooked. 

“That’s really dangerous,” Hiccup muttered. “If they’re drunk, they could easily lose their balance and fall off.”

Astrid looked at him and smirked. “That would be a shame. How about we lend them a hand?” 

Her teammates smirked along with her, understanding immediately what she meant. Hiccup wasn’t so in tune. “What do you mean?”

The team ignored him and slowly and quietly walked toward the enemy. Before anyone could realize what was going on, the Vikings pulled their legs back and kicked the dragons off the ledge. Hiccup gasped, his hand flying to his mouth. “What the hell?” he yelled, running toward them to make sure everyone was okay. A glance showed the dragons looking up before running away and Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief.

“Let’s get ‘em!” Astrid said in a battle cry, raising her fist. Her teammates cheered and jumped down the ledge before chasing after the enemy. Astrid quickly followed, leaving Hiccup in the dust. He sighed. At least no one got hurt.


	2. Chapter 2

Seeing as his ride had ditched him (or, technically, he ditched them), Hiccup’s only option was to walk home. It wasn’t close, but it wasn’t unbearably far, and Hiccup started his journey. He was only a few minutes in when he turned the corner and saw a boy with a familiar jersey dragging himself into the alley in front of Hiccup.  Hearing a faint crash, Hiccup picked up his pace and turned into the alley. “Oh my god,” he breathed, kneeling next to the figure in front of him.

One of the Dragons  sat leaned against the wall next to fallen trash cans. He was breathing heavy, blood dripping down his forehead and his face contorted in pain as he clutched his right jean leg. He didn’t recognize the boy, with his dark skin, strong features, and tight curls, but could tell from the jersey that the two were not to be consorting. Still, he couldn’t leave an injured person on their own, especially when he was clearly the cause.

“Are you okay?” Hiccup asked softly.

The boy opened his eyes and turned his head toward Hiccup, his face unamused. “That’s gotta be the dumbest question I’ve ever heard,” he growled, though its bite was lost in his breathy, pained voice.

“Sorry,” Hiccup mumbled. “Let me help, where does it hurt exactly?”

He stared at Hiccup for a while, untrusting, but seemed to give in to the idea of getting rid of the pain. “My lower leg. The right one.”

Hiccup nodded and moved closer to the boy’s leg. As gently as he could, he lifted the pant leg up to get a closer look at the injury, slowing down when he heard the boy sharply suck his breath in through his teeth. “It’s bruised and I think it’s swollen. Could be broken, can you move it?”

“If I could move,” he attempted to growl again, “would I be in this position?”

“Okay, we need to get you to the emergency room.”

“No!” he protested, startling Hiccup back. “No. Just leave me, I’ll figure something out.”

Hiccup stared at him in surprise for a while before shaking himself out of it. “You have to do something about your leg. Even that cut on your forehead is going to get infected if you leave it alone. Come on.” He balanced next to the injured boy, and attempted to take the other boy’s arm, but he jerked it away.

“Touch me and I’ll fucking kill you,” he growled.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. “You’re not killing anyone in this position. So shut up and let me help you.”

It took a minute, but eventually the boy gave in with a sigh. Hiccup smiled and once again balanced next to him, taking his arm around his own shoulders. With all his strength, and help from the boy’s uninjured leg, he pushed off the ground so they were standing, the boy leaning on Hiccup for support.

“Where are we going?” 

“My house,” Hiccup answered. “It’s not close, but we’ll take lots of breaks.”

“Are you sure?”

Hiccup turned his head toward the boy and smiled. “Can’t just leave you alone out here, can I?”

The boy paused for a moment before mumbling out a quick, “Thanks.”

It took a while, but eventually they found a rhythm together, making the walk a little easier. “Who are you?” the Dragon asked, his eyebrows furrowing together. 

“My name is Hiccup. I’m, uh…the mascot for the Vikings basketball team.”

The boy raised his eyebrows. “Really? Then shouldn’t you be with your team, pushing my team off ledges? Why are you helping me?”

Hiccup felt a stab of guilt in his stomach. “I’m not exactly what you would call ‘popular.’ The team doesn’t like me, I’m not a part of the group at all. And I’m helping because it’s the right thing to do.” 

The boy seemed skeptical, but nodded. “Okay. But you better not be trying to finish what your teammates started, or else.”

HIccup smiled. “Have some faith. I’ll have you fixed up in no time.”

***

Opening the door while physically supporting someone almost twice his size was definitely a struggle, but Hiccup managed to get into the house. After a struggle getting them into the bathroom, he sat the boy on the toilet seat, his stomach wrenching in guilt every time he heard another pained grunt or hiss. 

Hiccup opened the medicine cabinet, grabbing the bottle of Advil and handing three pills to the boy along with a cup of water. He downed them both, a drop of water dripping out of the corner of his mouth. When he finished, he crumpled the plastic cup and leaned his head back, closing his eyes tightly to block out the light. 

Hiccup took out his phone and started typing, but after a couple of minutes he felt something hit his head. Startled, he looked at the boy, who was looking at him angrily, hand poised as if he’d just thrown something, no longer holding the broken cup. “What the hell are you doing?” he hissed at Hiccup.

“Googling how to fix a broken leg,” Hiccup responded, turning his attention back to his phone. “Shockingly enough, in high school they don’t teach you what to do when someone refuses to get necessary medical attention. Okay, one sec.” He stuck his phone back into his pocket and hurried out of the bathroom, coming back a minute later with an armful of wire hangers and a roll of packing tape on his wrist. He dropped them on the floor and opened the cabinet under the sink, taking out about 7 ace bandages and dropping them next to the hangers.

“Why…” the boy started, staring puzzled at the piles by his feet.

“My dad is huge, so when he sprains something one bandage doesn’t do it. So we always keep tons of extras around. And he’ll probably notice that every hanger in our house is missing, but you gotta do what you gotta do.” He gave the boy a reassuring smile before sitting on his knees, bending and taping the hangers until he had four large, straight pieces. He took one piece and held it near the boy’s leg for a moment, measuring. He then took another piece, taping them together so they overlapped about a third of the way. He did the same to the other two pieces before grabbing one of the ace bandages. “Okay, I’m gonna start wrapping it. I don’t think it will cause extra pain, but I have no idea. Just don’t move your leg.”

He nodded his agreement and Hiccup carefully but firmly started wrapping the leg, using all the bandages until it was as close to a cast as he could make it. When he finished, he grabbed the two hanger pieces, putting them on either side of the leg and wrapping tape near the top and the bottom, making it as firm as he could without blocking off even more oxygen to the leg. “Okay,” Hiccup breathed, looking up. “How do you feel?”

“Peachy,” the boy grumbled. “Anyway, I still don’t know why you did it, but…thanks.”

Hiccup smiled and stood up, stretching. “Well, I still have to clean that wound on your forehead.” He grabbed a few pieces of tissue and wet them before putting a drop of hand soap on. He reached out to the wound on the forehead, but paused when the boy pulled away from the tissue.

“Soap?” he questioned. “Shouldn’t you be using something fancy like hydrogen peroxide or some shit?”

“Hydrogen peroxide kills the good cells too, and it hurts. I’m gonna use alcohol to clean off the blood around the wound after, but soap and water works just fine and doesn’t hurt at all.”

The boy furrowed his brow and frowned. “Who  _ are _ you?”

“Hiccup,” he answered, knowing he already gave his name, but figuring it was a polite way to get the boy’s, and held his unoccupied hand out. He also remembered being threatened earlier, yet nothing had come of it. In fact, the boy was being quite conscientious. Hmm. “You?”

He stared at the hand for a moment before shaking it. “Atheer. Interesting name you’ve got.”

Hiccup smiled. “Yeah, most of the people with weird names are nicknames, but not me. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, at your service.” He gave an exaggerated bow, causing Atheer to snort out a short laugh.

“Weirdo.”

“Hey, stay with me long enough and I’ll pass it on to you.”

“Oh god no,” Atheer groaned.

Hiccup gave a wide smirk before going back to the wound. “Oh god, yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Atheer is an African name meaning "the sound of the night." I thought it fit :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So you may have noticed that I changed the warnings and some tags. I have a lot of this story written out already and it gets dark. Please read the warnings and feel free to bow out if it's not for you :) And for those who are still here, I hope you enjoy! <3

“So, Atheer,” Hiccup started after getting the boy situated relatively comfortably on his bed. “Why are you so against going to the hospital? Or at least home?”

Atheer looked down at his broken leg uncomfortably and bit at his bottom lip. “They both have the same reason. But it doesn't matter. The fact is I can't. But if you can't keep me here, I can find somewhere else to go.”

Hiccup shrugged. “I don't mind. But my dad will throw a fit if he finds out, so you'll have to stay in here and I'll bring food up when I can if you stay long enough to eat.”

He groaned. “Even the adults hate us? This place is messed up, man.”

Hiccup looked down awkwardly. “Yeah, it is. Especially since my dad is the coach.”

The Dragon sighed as he leaned his head against the wall, allowing him to look up at the ceiling. After a few seconds, he furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head to the side. “Are those glow in the dark stars?”

Hiccup looked up, as if he didn't remember what was on the ceiling he stared up at each night. “Yeah. It's from when I was a kid. I…used to talk to them, like they were my friend or something. I guess since I didn't have any, I had to make my own.” He looked back down and shook his head. “It's really dumb, but I never had the heart to take them down.”

Atheer watched him curiously. No friends, huh? That didn't seem right; he was way too nice to be ignored. Although, Atheer figured, that did seem to be how high school worked. And he imagined it would be even worse for a scrawny kid in a town that's clearly way too obsessed with high school basketball. “It's not dumb. It's…actually kind of cute.”

Hiccup flushed. He couldn't help it, he'd never been called cute before. He saw Atheer smile at his embarrassment and grabbed one of the extra pillows from the floor. He tossed it at the injured boy's head. The boy caught it easily, laughing as he threw it back at Hiccup, who managed to fwap it away before it hit him. Atheer laughed harder. “One day I'm gonna teach you to catch that,” he said with a smirk. 

Hiccup smiled back at him. “So you're planning to continue consorting with the enemy?”

Atheer shrugged. “Not like you're actually part of that horrid team. And you're not the type to kick an opposing team off a hill, so…sure. You're cool, Hiccup.”

Hiccup stared at the boy in front of him like he was an alien. This cool basketball player wanted to hang out? With  _ him _ ? It was unreal. “Thank you,” he breathed, his cheeks tinging ever so slightly pink.

Atheer raised his eyebrows at the response. Guess he really  _ didn’t _ have friends if he was that unused to simple compliments. “So you’re their mascot, huh?” he asked, deciding to change the subject. “Why?”

It was Hiccup’s turn to raise his eyebrows. “Why? Interesting question. I don’t know, my dad is the coach and everyone loves the team. I’m not very good at sports, in fact I’m terrible, and I guess I just wanted to be involved.” He shrugged and looked away, embarrassed. He started picking at his rug. “I guess it’s pretty dumb considering they’re all bullies.”

“You keep saying things like that. It’s normal to want to be a part of something.”

He looked back at him and gave a small smile. “Yeah, maybe--”

“Hiccup?” A voice boomed suddenly from somewhere outside the bedroom.

“My dad’s home!” Hiccup exclaimed, jumping from his spot on the floor. “You stay here. Not that you’re able to go anywhere… Shit, that was probably the wrong thing to say. Just...sit.” He made a motion with his hands that Atheer figured was supposed to emphasize just how important it was that he stay put, then left the bedroom, making sure to shut the door behind him.

“Hiccup, there you are,” Stoick greeted his son with a frown. “Shame about today.”

“Yeah, but we’ll get ‘em next time,” Hiccup said in the most confident voice he could muster. “Oh, speaking of dangerous sports, do you know where I could find a pair of crutches?”

Stoick’s frown deepened. “What for?”

“Uh, school project,” Hiccup answered nervously. “Yeah, I gotta research medical stuff for science, figured I should get a pair to get the whole...experience.”

“Oh. The medical supply store a few blocks away should sell them. Do you need money?”

“No, thanks, I’ve still got saved up from my allowance. Thanks!” He ran out the door, letting out a breath as soon as it closed behind him. God, that was nerve wracking. Once his brain calmed down he headed to the medical store.

The crutches were $40. Hiccup couldn’t figure out if he thought that was cheap or expensive, but it didn’t matter. Atheer would need to get around somehow. He walked back into his house and headed to his bedroom, trying to maneuver the crutches so that they didn’t knock into anything.

“You got me crutches?” Atheer asked as soon as Hiccup had closed the door.

“Of course,” he responded. “How else are you supposed to get around with that leg?” He handed the crutches to Atheer, who carefully took them. He tucked them under his armpits and gently rested his weight on his good leg to stand. He took one step, which is all he could manage in the relatively small room, and grinned at Hiccup.

“Thanks. What now?”

“Well, it’s almost dinner. Do you wanna go home yet, or…?”

His grin disappeared and his eyes immediately darkened. “No.”

Hiccup almost shivered. “Okay. Do you want to sneak out and back in and have dinner with me and my dad, or do you want me to sneak food in here?”

“Do you mind?” Atheer asked, his eyes softening. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for the head of the Dragons to have dinner with the coach of the Vikings. Not in this town.”

Hiccup smiled softly. “Of course. I’ll figure something out. See you soon.” He headed out to the kitchen to see his dad putting something in the oven. “Hey, Dad. What’s for dinner?”

“Hiccup!” Stoick boomed, standing up and smiling at his son. “It’s lasagna. Still your favorite, right?”

“Yeah, it is. What’s the occasion?”

Stoick shrugged. “I heard you went out with the team after the game. I wanted to celebrate.”

Uh oh. “Oh. Well, that didn’t...I mean, it was…” He sighed and gave a genuine smile. His father was proud of him. ”Thanks, Dad.”

They made small talk while they waited for the lasagna to finish. Stoick asked what he and the team did, and Hiccup lied. His dad may hate the Dragons as much as the team, but it didn’t mean he would condone violence. Or maybe he would. He was such a disappointment to his father, who knew what the man would accept at this point.

Soon enough, the oven timer tang and Stoick took the lasagna out of the oven. “Hey, Dad? I don’t feel so great, would I be able to eat in my room?”

“Oh,” the burly man said. “I suppose so.”

Hiccup gave him a weak smile and thanked him before taking a plate of food into his bedroom.

“You finished eating already?” Atheer asked from his spot on the bed.

Hiccup shook his head, handing the boy the plate before taking his own seat on the floor once more. “No, I didn’t know how hungry you were, so I didn’t want to make you wait.”

“Then why only one piece?”

“It would have been suspicious for me to bring two pieces, and I can always get food later.”

“Oh. Well...thanks.”

Hiccup shrugged. “It’s really not a big deal.”

“You sell yourself short too much. I’m gonna punch your bullies in the face.”

Hiccup laughed. It was relatively loud, so he quickly slapped his hands over his mouth to stop the sound. “Dude,” he said, a huge grin on his face, “You can’t just punch people in the face!”

Atheer shrugged. “Okay. But you helped me, I wanna help you. Let me know if they give you more trouble.”

Hiccup just watched him for a moment. He couldn’t be serious. This random boy he’d only known for a few hours,  _ and was on the opposing team _ , wanted to....protect him? But the look on Atheer’s face was so serious that Hiccup just smiled and let out a “Thank you.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! I got all up in my head about the story and just utterly abandoned it for like a month, haha. But I still have a ton written out, I mostly just need to figure out how to end it. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

"Lemme see," Hiccup said, peering over Atheer's shoulder. Atheer hunched over the paper, hiding the drawing from Hiccup's snooping. "Come on, you saw all of my drawings."

"Yeah, but your drawings are good!" Atheer exclaimed. "Hiccup, if you try to take this piece of paper I swear I'll throat-punch you so hard you'll have to breathe between your shoulders."

Well with a challenge like that, there was only one way to respond. Hiccup darted in and poked Atheer in the side, exposed as it was from his hunching. Atheer squeaked loudly and lurched in the other direction to protect his midriff.

Hiccup grabbed the paper and lifted it up high.

"Hey!" Atheer said. His hands clenched into fists and Hiccup tensed. He was all for friendly roughhousing, but some of his teammates emphasized the "rough" and forgot about the "friendly." He probably shouldn't have been testing the Dragon's limits like this, but it wasn't like pain was new to him. 

Instead of punching him, Atheer just sighed, and rested his head on his fist. "Dickhead," he muttered.

Hiccup laughed out loud. "You're all talk! I could have sworn you had teeth when I first saw you."

"Shut the fuck up."

"Would you like some applesauce, o toothless one?"

"I'm gonna murder you."

"Oh man, lemme bring up the blender so we can liquify that lasagna for you, Mr. Toothless."

Atheer crumpled up his drawing and lobbed it at Hiccup's head. Hiccup ducked out of the way.

"Oh, Toothless," he called in a sing-song voice. Atheer threw a paperclip this time. Hiccup laughed again.

Atheer -- or rather, Toothless -- gave in with a loud sigh. “Fine. But if other people start calling me that, I’m coming for you.”

Hiccup grinned before handing Toothless a new piece of paper. “Come on, let me teach you some tricks.”

***

Hiccup woke up with a crick in his neck and a crutch in his back. Toothless had tried to take the floor and leave the bed for him, but Hiccup had insisted. How he thought Hiccup would let him sleep on the floor with a broken leg was beyond him, but he chalked it up to not knowing each other that well.

Looking at the clock and realizing he still had time before his dad got up, Hiccup stood and stretched, letting out a breath of relief as he felt his back crack. Gently, he opened the door and left the room so as not to wake Toothless. 

He went to the kitchen and put a few slices of bread in the toaster. He would have to guess what kind of eggs Toothless liked, but the boy didn’t seem too picky. In fact, with that figure, he probably liked a lot more things than Hiccup himself. He wasn’t overweight, but he was relatively large, at least compared to Hiccup (not that that was a difficult feat). And when his shirt lifted up to reveal his midroff, Hiccup saw a toned stomach. Not creepily muscular, just...nice.

Realizing where his thoughts had gone, Hiccup shook his head and felt his cheeks grow warm. , He took out a pan and 5 eggs, deciding to ignore why his brain had gone there. He added milk and mixed the two together before pouring it into the pan. When he was finished cooking, he had a nice plate of scrambled eggs with four pieces of toast. He grabbed two forks and headed back to his bedroom. 

“Toothless?” he whispered once inside. “I made breakfast.”

The boy didn’t stir, so Hiccup set the plate down and gently shook him. “Toothless?”

“Hrghhh,” Toothless groaned before blinking his eyes open. “What?” he croaked.

“Food.”

Toothless rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and sat up, looking curiously at the boy who smiled shyly at him, the plate of eggs now back in his hands. “You made breakfast?”

“Yeah. I hope you like scrambled eggs.”

The Dragon nodded. “Yeah. Thanks.” He took the plate and a fork from him and immediately dug in. 

“Hey, save some for me!” Hiccup laughed, plopping down next to him and stabbing at the eggs.

“So,” Hiccup started when the food was finished, “How are you gonna get to school? It’s kind of far for you to walk with a broken leg.”

Toothless shrugged. “I’ll probably take a cab. And you don’t have to worry, I’m gonna go home tonight.”

Hiccup looked at him, surprised; he was so against it before. “Are you sure? I don’t mind you being here.”

He shook his head. “No. You’ve done more than enough for me already.” Hiccup nodded.

“Okay. If you’re sure.”

Toothless made sure to leave before Stoick got out of his room, and walked to the corner before ordering his cab. Hiccup waved him goodbye and sighed. He hated to admit it, but he was worried about the boy. (He should probably stop saying boy considering he was probably older than him.) Why hadn’t he wanted to go home, or to the hospital? Was he in a bad situation? Oh god, what if he was being abused?

Hiccup shook his head.  _ No _ , he thought.  _ Stop thinking like that _ . He spared a look at the clock before rushing to his room to get dressed before his dad left without him.

***

Hiccup couldn’t believe he had pulled it off. He had hidden the enemy in his room all night and his dad was none the wiser. He couldn’t help but smile. He had helped someone. Someone who now wanted to be his friend. Things were looking up.

Well, they were, until someone shoved him, slamming him into a nearby locker.

“What are you smiling about, dork?” Ruffnut laughed and high fived Tuffnut as they walked away. Hiccup sighed. Things at school would never change, but at least his personal life seemed to be getting better.

The rest of the morning went by pretty uneventfully. During lunchtime, Snotlout pulled out Hiccup’s chair so he fell flat on his butt, his tray of food spilling all over him. with a sigh, he stood up, shaking some of the food off his arms. “Thanks,” he said sarcastically before heading to the bathroom. Of course, his clothes were going to be wet all day after cleaning them off, but better wet than full of food. When he was just about finished, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Curiously, he took it out and checked the screen, unable to stop the smile that lit up his face.

_ Hey _ , Toothless had texted.  _ Thx again for everything _ .  _ My buddies thank u too _

_ My pleasure _ , he responded immediately,  _ I still think you should go to the hospital. I can’t guarantee how well that makeshift cast will hold up _

_ We’ll see. Those jocks still giving u trouble? _

_ Not really, _ Hiccup lied, looking down at his damp clothes and grimacing.  _ Well, maybe. _

_ My offer still stands _

Hiccup couldn’t help but smile wider at the offer.  _ Thanks. Maybe another time _

_ Ok. I gotta head to class i’ll ttyl _

Hiccup texted his own goodbye and pocketed his phone. He looked at his reflection and was surprised at how happy the face in front of him looked. It was an unusual sight, but he wasn’t complaining. In fact, it was nice. He wasn’t going to have Toothless beat up the basketball team he mascotted for, but it was nice to know that the offer was there. That someone cared.

He heard the bell ring and cursed under his breath. Great, now he was going to draw attention by walking into class late.

He did draw attention, but thankfully no one seemed to care, and turned their attention back to whatever they were each doing within seconds. 

After school ended, Hiccup watched as the members of the basketball team walked right past him. Realizing he wasn’t going to be invited out again, he sighed and headed home.


End file.
